Friends of Eden Gardens State Park

10/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who has reached out concerned about our beautiful park. There are many large trees down in the park and along the entrance road to the park. We will be closed for a few more days while we clean up and make the park safe again for visitors.

The good news is that no buildings were damaged and the wedding tree is still standing!

We will post again to let you all know when the park reopens. Be safe out there!

10/08/2026

🌧️ CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER 🌧️
The Paper Bear Thursday Oct 8th 6:30pm

Unfortunately, Eden’s Fall Film Series featuring The Paper Bear, presented by The St. Joe Foundation, has been canceled due to the weather forecast.

Thank you to everyone who planned to join us, and to our wonderful sponsors for helping make this event possible: Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, Central Square Records, Bailey Advisory Group 30A, The Art of Simple and Grayton B**r Company.

We’re disappointed to miss an evening under the oak trees with you, but hope to see you October 15th for The Princess Bride & October 22nd for Frogs. 🐸🐸🐸

Stay safe everyone!!

10/01/2026

Eden’s Fall Film Series is BACK!

There’s nothing quite like a movie under the oak trees at Eden Gardens! Grab your chairs, blankets, and favorite people, and join us for three evenings of outdoor films in the park.

We’re kicking off this year’s lineup on October 8 at 6:30 PM with The Paper Bear! 🐻

This family-friendly film celebrates the incredible biodiversity of Northwest Florida and is a wonderful way to learn more about the natural world right here in our own backyard.

And the fun continues! Check out the rest of our lineup:

🎥 October 8 | The Paper Bear
A family-friendly film celebrating the biodiversity of Northwest Florida.

🎥 October 15 | The Princess Bride
A beloved classic filled with adventure, romance, and plenty of quotable moments. As you wish!

🎥 October 22 | Frogs
Back by popular demand! This crowd favorite is an eco-horror film that was actually filmed right here at Eden Gardens. What better place to watch it than under the very same oak trees? 🐸

Event Details:
📅 October 8, 15 & 22 | 6:30 PM
📍 Eden Gardens State Park
🎟️ Films are free with paid park admission ($4 per car)
🪑 Bring your chairs, blankets, and coolers!
🍿 Popcorn, candy, and beverages will be available for a donation.

The Paper Bear is presented by The St. Joe Community Foundation, Inc..

A HUGE thank-you to our amazing sponsors for helping make this special community event possible: Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, The Art of Simple, Central Square Records, Bailey Advisory Group 30A and Grayton B**r Company. We’re so grateful for your continued support!

Three films, three beautiful evenings, and one perfect setting. Come enjoy the fall weather, spend time with friends and family, and experience the magic of movies beneath the oaks.

Mark your calendars, spread the word, and we’ll see you under the trees!

07/17/2026

If anybody has visited Eden this month, you may have noticed some big projects going on during the first two weeks! We had 4 improvements lined up to be done in July and as of today 3 are complete and the last one is halfway.

1) The Wesley house got a new roof!
2) The fountain had a crack and was leaking. In order to make the repair, it needed to be completely drained and decades of worth of detritus removed. 23 Koi fish were re-homed, and the pond will now be chlorinated to keep it looking nice and clear.
3) Fresh sod was installed around the wedding oak tree. It was starting to be a little bare where the ‘aisle’ of the ceremonies is usually positioned, but now it’s lovely and green again.
4) The last improvement that is still underway is a facelift to the pavilion kitchen and bathrooms. That project will be complete by the end of July!

It took us several years to save up the money to accomplish all of this, but it is well worth it!

When you book an ‘Afterhours’ wedding/event at Eden, buy a Camellia at the Camellia Festival, purchase a membership or even purchase something from the fig leaf gift shop, you are directly contributing to Eden Gardens State Park and keeping it beautiful - so thank you for your support!

03/28/2026

Would you like to learn how the Friends Of Eden supports Eden Gardens State Park? We are holding our Annual Member's meeting and Trivia Night on April 14th starting at 6PM catered by 3-Son's BBQ. This event is free for current members, and $20 for anyone else who would like attend. Between rounds of Trivia, the Friends of Eden Board will provide updates on upcoming projects, as well as a summary of what we accomplished in 2025. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you would like to attend, as seating is limited. You can become a member at the event or on our website: https://www.friendsofedengardens.com/membership.html

03/01/2026

The azaleas are starting to bloom at Eden Gardens State Park! We have a few pockets with lots of color but most of the azaleas are still budded up and should be opening over the next week or two. There are also still plenty of Camellias blooming, which makes this the perfect time to come visit the park.

Eden Gardens State Park is open daily from 8am till sunset and the entry fee is $4 per vehicle.

02/14/2026

Entrance fees for Florida State Parks are waived this weekend!

In honor of George Washington’s birthday and America250FL, Florida State Parks will offer free admission from Feb. 13 through Feb. 16, so you can experience the landscapes that shaped the nation’s earliest chapters.

You may not realize it, but San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and more have significant ties to the Revolutionary War era.

Free admission applies to day-use only and excludes Skyway Fishing Pier State Park and Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park. All other fees, including overnight accommodations, special events, concessions and rentals from park vendors, will remain in effect.

***
📍: Fort Clinch Historic State Park
📸: Courtesy of Florida Memory, 1794

💡: Plan your adventure at FloridaStateParks.org. Before you visit, check the KNOW BEFORE YOU GO section on the park’s webpage for real-time updates and helpful information.

02/06/2026

Tomorrow, Saturday Feb 7th, is our annual Camellia Festival! With the below freezing temperatures last weekend, many of the camellia blooms turned brown. But we are already seeing many of them opening back up! These camellia photos are from late in the day yesterday, so by Saturday there should be even more opened!

It’s forecasted to be a beautiful day on Saturday, so we hope you will come out to enjoy your day at the Park! In addition to our big fundraiser selling camellias, there will be live music, food vendors, educational stations throughout the park and even some sweet adoptable pups from Alaqua Animal Refuge!

Bring your folding chairs and picnic blankets, and spend your day with us!

Visit our event page for more information:

https://facebook.com/events/s/camellia-festival-2026/1373549927578165/

01/26/2026

Every day that we walk through Eden Gardens State Park there is something new to look at. So many beautiful camellia blooms to enjoy this morning and we can’t resist sharing them on Facebook for those to can’t visit as often. (Although we hope you will come see them for yourselves if you can)

We are expecting some below freezing temperatures here in Walton County, so we wanted to offer some information and advice about your camellias.

If you have any camellias that are in pots, it would be best to bring them inside or up against the house. Protecting the roots is most important but if you are able to cover the whole plant that is great too.

For camellias that are in the ground, the plant itself will be fine with the colder temperatures as the ground will insulate those roots. Unfortunately any blooms or buds that are starting to show color may turn brown if they are not covered. We have far too many camellias at the park to go around covering them all, but if you have just a couple it may be worth covering them to protect those blooms that are just starting to open.

If you can’t cover your camellias, maybe cut a few open blossoms to enjoy indoors! The good news is that any flowers buds which are still closed tight will generally survive the cold (at least the temperatures we will be experiencing here in the panhandle of Florida) and bloom after the cold passes!

01/22/2026

The Camellias love a sunny day between cold snaps! Here are some blooms that are open throughout the park today, the variety names are in the captions of each photo.